Story Time
by Laraia
Summary: Completely revised! Anyone care to check out the new, so-much-better version?


Story Time: Book One, Chapter 1  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda: Ocarina of Time or any of the characters except Larami. And if any of you have read it, the ability to test honesty is from the book Green Rider, the ability to hear heartbeats from Rhapsody, by Elizabeth Haydon.  
  
Note:This isn't totally about Zelda but it takes place in that world and has those characters,   
this was actually a dream I had but I kinda morphed it so that it fit the story. * * means thinking   
instead of talking. You might notice that a few things are different as well.  
  
  
  
"Larami! I need your help again!" shouted Erica. Larami jerked her head up from the concentration on her   
story. *At this rate I'll never finish this book, especially if she can't keep those cuccos in their pen.* "I'm coming!" she   
shouted back. The girl stood up, stretched, and set her pencil and paper down. Running out the door and down the one of the many   
staircases in Kakariko Village, the carpenter who happened to be standing by recognized her wild fiery hair and shouted,  
"You'd better hurry before those chickens go out to the field!" She merely chuckled and ran on her way.  
  
Larami wore a green tunic that she had constructed herself, with hair that could have been mistaken for liquid fire pulled back into a high ponytail and even then it waterfalled to her lower back. She had slightly curled bangs and sideburns that fell over her shoulders and curled   
up around the bottom. She could hardly see where she was going as she ran with blurring speed, but that didn't matter; she acted from weeks of practice.   
  
As she reached her destination her forest green eyes darted around the open area of the town and   
the fifteen year old fixed her gaze on the crafty cuccoo that kept getting away. *There you are!* She snuck around the area   
until she was right behind the creature and she dove headfirst. Seeing this the cuccoo started to run but didn't get far as   
she grabbed it and slid across the ground on her stomach. When she finally stopped, Larami got up and started to dust herself   
off, though when the cold air hit her arm it stabbed her with a stinging pain. Larami looked at it and saw a large scrape running down the inside of   
her arm that went from her elbow to her wrist.   
  
Holding the cuccoo under her good arm she carried it back to the pen and   
tossed it in, "Maybe in a little bit I'll build you a bigger pen for them." Erica just smiled and said, "Thanks, I really appreciate you helping me out." Larami started  
to head back to her house that she built by the entrance of the village, but before she went in she shouted, "I still can't see  
why you have so many chickens when your allergic to them!"   
  
She walked back in and sat down to finish her story *Man! I  
wish this thing could finish itself so I wouldn't have to worry about getting it done.* Larami sighed and wiped her brow as she reached over and picked up the pencil. When she looked back at the story, she sighed with exhaustion. The girl had been stuck at this particular spot for a long while now, Larami wondered if she would ever figure out how to get out of the situation.   
  
Larami set her pencil down again, looking disdainfully at the blank space after the last word she had written. An overwhelming feel of stuffiness in the dimly lit room compelled her to step outside, so with that, she was out the door. Upon opening the entrance however, the air was forced from her lungs as she collided with a young man who looked like he needed   
help. The boy had mumbled something and passed out. Frantic, Larami sprang to catch him as he fell. *He needs attention.* She held him around the shoulders and awkwardly managed to bring him inside where she laid him down on her small bed. Going to her stoves she started some soup for him when he woke   
up, and while that was cooking, walked to the back room to pick up a bottle of blue potion that she had for emergencies.  
  
Since she was closest to the village entrance, Larami usually ended up taking care of the people who needed urgent help, which developed her close relationship with the potion shop dealer. She   
walked back out and sat down in a chair by the bed, "Here, drink this up," she whispered as she poured the berry flavored   
potion down his throat. Almost instantly he woke up and felt, for the most part, better already. "Where am I?" he half-mumbled, not caring who heard.  
To his surprise, someone answered. "You're in Kakariko Village." He watched on quietly as Larami walked back over to the pot and   
poured two bowls of soup for them. "I thought you looked hungry so I cooked up a little something."  
  
A grateful smile made his face glow. He quickly accepted the bowl, "Thank you, I haven't anything to eat for   
days." She took a taste of her soup as well and started a conversation,"What happened to you anyway? When you came in you   
looked like a zombie." he thought for a minute *Should I tell her? It probably wouldn't hurt but I don't know, I wouldn't   
want to get her into any trouble because of me. A little white lie won't hurt.* "I- I got in a fight." he said bluntly, she just blinked, "Oh, okay." she replied, finding that a rather odd explanation for the gruesome condition he was in. Lie! Larami inwardly jumped at the sudden feeling in the back of her mind. *Just suspicious, I guess . . .* she brushed off the thought that hadn't been hers in the first place.  
  
"Just make yourself at home for now, I have to go see someone." she said as she walked out the door. He   
just sat for a mintue before looking around *I guess since she'll be gone for a while it wouldn't hurt to take a nap.*   
thought Link. As he laid down, the boy saw her story out of the corner of his eye. Well, the nap could wait, he wanted to know what he could find out about this person.  
  
  
****************************************************************************  
  
Larami walked up to the witch's shop and entered, "Magi? Can I talk with you about something?" she asked   
as if she was a child again. "Of course dear." The old wise woman said. "I need to restock in the blue potion, I had to use it today."   
  
A thoughtful look seared across Magi's face. "All of it?  
  
Larami nodded, just a little afraid. "There was this boy . . ." She didn't finish as a bony hand dismissed her explanation. "There's some in the back, but I can only give you a little bit, we're running out." LIE! Larami shivered, it had been the same. The same as with the boy. "You can't be running out," she blurted without thinking.  
  
The woman's head snapped upward to meet her eyes. "What makes you say that?"  
  
Larami blushed. "I'm sorry . . . I didn't mean . . . Well, I felt it . . . you lied."  
  
Magi's eyes softened and she smiled, the first time Larami had seen her do so in fact, and made the girl wish she hadn't, as the smile twisted her old face into a scathing grimace. "Magic," she said calmly. The girl paled and quivered. "Magic?"  
  
The old woman chuckled, "Yes," she said matter-of-factly, "The ability to detect honesty is a form of magic. Very basic, mind you, but one nonetheless."  
  
Lie! Larami ignored it. Taking the potion from the mage's outstretched hand, she said no more as she turned and rushed outside, bolting back toward the familiarity of her home.  
  
****************************************************************************  
  
Upon returning to her dwelling, Larami found that the boy was still awake, which was quite surprising to discover, even moreso that he was reading her story. Glancing up, he smiled. "Not a bad working." She relaxed somewhat, Larami had never shown her stories to someone, she was afraid of the response she would get. "Thank you. I'm not finished though . . . you'd have to wait to read the end."  
  
At that moment Navi popped up and yawned, then said," Read the end to what, Link?"   
Larami glanced up, stumbling backward in surprise, and asked, "Is that your name? It sounds familiar. Wait just a minute, you have a fairy?" She asked, awestruck. He looked   
up at Navi somewhat affectionately, "Yes, she's my guardian."   
  
Larami thought that Navi was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen and said so. "She's   
beautiful, Link," the name rolled off her tongue and gave her a feeling strong enough to make her shiver. Navi glowed a little brighter at this and said, "Thank you." Larami just smiled, then asked Navi if she   
would like some soup as well. "If it's not a problem I would love some," Navi replied. The chair creaked as she got up and walked over to the   
stove to get the faye a bowl. Walking back over to her desk, she set the bowl down for the tiny fairy, then she went to get a spare mattress from the backroom for her to sleep on, smiling at the peaceful face of the young man deep in slumber already.  
  
Larami found she could not sleep later that night, and so she sat to try and calm herself the way Magi had explained. Relaxing all muscles in the body and clearing the mind was supposed to be refreshing. Without knowing, the girl drifted off, and dreamt. When she snapped awake she was soaked with sweat and   
breathing hard. She had been dreaming of fire! Larami slowly laid herself down on the mattress and fell into a restless sleep. In her dream she was running  
from someone but she couldn't tell who, she had run out into the field and all she had with her was her stories and a bag, she was   
crying. Then there was a great flash of light and she woke up. *What in Hyrule's name was that?* She wondered. Link who was already awake   
said something to her, though she didn't hear. He started talking, "I really appreciate you taking care of me but I have to   
get going." Larami looked slightly disappointed, but replied amiably, "Come by whenever your in town and I'll give you some food, my name is Larami." He waved as he   
walked down the steps to the field and off to the castle.  
  
She sighed and collected her stories. They really were getting out of hand, maybe she would finish them off. As Larami set about cleaning her house, she pondered this. Yes, she decided, there would need to be a last story. But, it would need something special. Maybe a character should die. But which one? Gathering up the ones Link was reading, she set them neatly in a box. Which character?  
  
Later that evening she sat down to her desk, flipping her hair over her shoulder and twirling her pencil between her fingers. Leaning forward, her chair squeaked and the comforting sound of the pencil sliding across the paper in her neat little scrawl filled the room. After the course of a few hours she leaned back, satisfied with the chapter, but she should probably find a better spot to close it. She decided to go talk to Felix up on the roof, he always had good suggestions for her, even if she couldn't find ways to use them. Larami walked over on top of the carpenters' house and jumped up to the   
roof above, "Hi Felix."she greeted half-heartedly. He looked at her cheerily and said, "Why so glum? It's a beautiful night." Larami sighed   
at this, "I don't know, I just feel as if something isn't right. But enough about that, I need some help with my story, got any ideas?" she asked as she handed over the manuscript. Handing it back, the man suggested she should leave it be, and he was quiet afterwards as they watched the sky.   
  
A chill ran down Larami's back.   
  
The next   
thing she knew, Felix was knocked off the roof and nearly everything was on fire, the buildings, the grass. The girl ran one way and another, finding all possible ways off the roof blocked by wickedly dancing flames. Larami stopped, her eyes were watering from the smoke.  
She was so hot she felt she could almost passed out, and she could barely breathe.   
  
She gasped and tripped backwards as a shadowy man leaped down in front of her from who knew where. She choked and coughed as she   
managed to whisper, "Who are you?" He started walking towards her to no effect, as she was scrambling backward, and instead of answering he just laughed at her pitiful  
efforts, "Yes, I'm sure you will do quite well to have survived my test. I am Ganondorf, King of the Gerudo, and from   
now on you shall serve by my side, along with the other two." She choked out a few more words   
but she couldn't speak them in sentences, "Test? Gerudo? What are you talking about?" Then he threw back his head and howled with that scornful laughter of his. "Don't think I haven't heard of your newfound ability to test honesty. I've been watching this town for some time now, you're lucky I found out before I burned it AND you." He reached out to grab her by the wrist when   
an arrow struck through his outstretched hand and the only sound to be heard was his the hissing of blood falling onto the roof, blood like acid.   
  
He growled angrily and looked up   
to see who was interfering, and she looked up as well, unable to contain the curiosity of who had aided her. Larami did nothing other than gasp, "Link!" she tried to shout. She delighted in seeing that Ganondorf had   
nearly forgotton about her, however. The girl defiantly pulled all her strength to get up to her knees and she scrambled through the fire, singing   
her clothes. Larami hadn't the strength to jump, so she rolled off the side of the roof. The fall seemed endless, and for a brief, exceptional moment, she heard nothing and felt the slightest stirrings of fatigue. Hitting the ground hard with a grunt on her back, Larami feined death by the smoke when a man passed, but she jumped to her   
feet and started running towards the entrance where everyone else had already gone. The young teen half tripped and half ran down the   
steps to the field.   
  
Larami had reached the bridge only to find the effort in vain as it was blocked. Screaming herself hoarse was the only thing she could think of to distract the slow-witted monsters as she crossed her arms in front of her face and ran. The pounding of her feet on the stone echoed in her ears, followed by a splash and angry grunts of those left behind in her dust. All she could see was a vast expanse of grassy field lands and the specks on the horizon that were the bridge to the castle and a construct in the center of the field. Plus a herd of wild horses. This brightened her as she ran toward them, with the muscles on their legs, those hulking beasts behind her would have no trouble catching her, but if she was on a horse?  
  
Larami singled out the most powerful looking one, knowing nothing about herds. She was shocked to find that it had been the herd stallion and reared in defiance to her approach. Backing away, she found herself running into another stallion, smaller, and lithe. She smiled, he would do much better, for he would be swift. Doing her best to calm it quickly, she hoisted herself to it's back and let it fly. Reaching the small speck that was the ranch in the distance, night was well under way. All that she left behind overwhelmed her mind as she slumped over the poll of the now exhausted copper stallion. A young lady came out to greet her and she could do little more than look up with bleary eyes. "Hello, my name is Malon, I will take care of you while you are here. I'll just bring   
your horse out to the corral then I will take you to your room, You won't be able to go out again at night so you might as well   
stay here-" suddenly she saw the condition her visitor was in and paled, breaking from the routine she knew only too well. "Daddy!" she shouted, the last word Larami heard as she fell to the ground from the horse's back.   
  
****************************************************************************  
  
The girl awoke to the sound of cuccoos, and for a moment, thought she had fallen asleep outside Erica's pen when she remembered what had happened. Larami's awakening was announced by a wrenching cry that tore from her throat. Malon, who was watching her at the time, jumped and hurried to her side. "Here, you're wasted, poor girl. My dad brought you in our guest room, it's well after nightfall and you've been asleep for an entire day, so you've no chance of getting anywhere in this condition. I have some fresh cheese for you, and a cup of hot cocoa, to warm you up. Will you be all right? I need to be tending to the cuccoos." Larami sipped the cocoa and hissed through her teeth as the liquid scalded her tongue. Nodding was all she had to do for Malon to be gone in the next instant. Looking around, she noticed that there were two girls nearby who were looking at her oddly.  
  
Tears sprang to her eyes. Was there anyone she knew left? One of the girls saw this and looked surprised. "I'm sorry, I hope you're not crying because of me, are you?" she exclaimed apologetically. Larami shook her head. "No," she answered with a tight throat, much to the girl's relief. "Well, why don't you tell me what's wrong? Maybe I can make you feel better," she suggested after a moment of thought. The other girl looked abashed that her friend would say such a thing. "Stop it, you don't need to be prying in her business!" Larami caught herself before the tears spilled and took a breath. "It's all right." Looking up, her green eyes met the second girl's strikingly gray ones.  
  
Larami began to retell her story, this time, letting her heart bleed through the water in her eyes.  
  
****************************************************************************  
  
Link slashed at the amoeba one last time as it died and the blue light appeared before him. He sighed and  
stepped into the circle as he was teleported out of the temple and onto the island in the lake. The hero of time limped carefully back to the main land, avoiding the crows that swarmed overhead and deciding to take a rest with the old professor he had talked to so many times before. "Hello old man," he said in jest. "Old? For all I know I stopped counting years at fifty and am now going in reverse," was the reply even before the professor turned around. The comment had been both old and well-known, and used every time they greeted eachother. Link chuckled heartily and laid a gentle hand on the fellow's shoulder. "What's the news, my friend?" he asked. The professor held up a finger enthusiastically as he said, "Ah! There is news. A Talent has been discovered by my pupil in Kakariko."  
  
Link payed little attention as he picked up and studied a small arcane object. "What's a Talent?"  
  
The professor shook his head. "I forget, what with all your little magics, that your knowledge isn't as vast as mine," he sighed exaggeratedly, eyes twinkling. "A young girl named Larami, to be exact. She has one of the old Talents, little quirks that were possessed by the three goddesses, you know them only too well. In any case, the talent is one of Nayru's, the ability to detect honesty in something."  
  
Link looked moderately surprised as his head snapped up. "Honesty? Is that all? I thought this was something big," he lied, choosing to conceal the fact that he had encountered the very same girl. And then he paled. *Had she known I lied?*  
  
The old man scowled, disregarding the odd color of his company's face. "Oh, but it is! This will definitely lead to very important events, I fear. If she's awakened hers, that means that the other two Talents will arise, she is Nayru's Talent, Din's Talent will be able to hear heartbeats, and Farore's Talent will be gifted the ability to follow dreams if I recall the legend correctly."  
  
Link shook his head. "I don't see a connection."  
  
Frustrated with the lack of understanding, the professor threw up his arms. "They will all be significantly connected, I tell you! You'll see."  
  
Turning, the young man cast one last comment over his shoulder. "Whatever you say," then he grinned and turned his head back around, "old man." 


End file.
